Mele Kalikimaka, Haole
by SolitAer
Summary: Short about the holidays.  Pt. 2- Hau'oli Makahiki Hou.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N:_ Just something I thought up that I wanted to share with everyone for the holidays. Let me know if you guys want some sort of response or anything... Merry Christmas!

_**Disclaimer:**_ Don't own it.

Mele Kalikimaka, Haole

It wasn't until after everyone had left and Rachel had picked up Grace that Danny noticed it. There, half-hidden beneath the branches of the tree, was a small box wrapped meticulously in shiny metallic red paper, a simple golden thread trimming the box with a bow tied at one end.

He furrowed his brow, and with a little half-smile somewhere between amused and confused bent to gather up the box in his hands. There was no tag or card indicating who the gift was from, and he slowly quirked one brow as he turned it over in his hands, for a split second wondering if he should throw it outside lest it detonate in his apartment.

Reconsidering, simply on the whim that SuperSEAL McGarrett would have reacted if he had detected any whiff of explosives, Danny sighed in a dramatically put-upon way and unwound the bow before tearing the paper from the gift—which turned out to be a small, black box with a lid.

Tossing the trash to the floor with the rest of what remained from the gift exchange earlier, Danny carefully lifted the lid from the box and peered at its contents.

It was a tie.

Not just any tie, but a bright blue tie, streaked with various shades of white and lighter blues to resemble water and covered with white-pink and yellow tropical flowers folded impeccably and lying like a bold trophy against white tissue paper.

A Hawaiian tie.

Danny picked it up with his thumb and forefinger and dangled it in front of his eyes as if it were made of filth from a sewer. His expression as he continued to stare at the offensive accessory rivaled the one he typically reserved for rants about Hawaii with its abominable pineapple-topped pizza and masses of water and _surf_-speak…

In his daze, it took another moment for Danny to notice the card that had been lying beneath the tie, and he looked down into the box to read the familiar handwriting there.

_It's still a tie, but at least it fits._

_Mele Kalikimaka, Haole._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: _Quick response to involve some suggestions from all of you! :D Thank you all, hope you enjoy this—Happy New Year!

_**Disclaimer:**_ Nope, not mine.

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

Steve wasn't expecting any company on New Year's Eve. Mary Ann was out doing…whatever it was Mary Ann did, and Cat was busy with work and wouldn't be able to make it over. It wasn't exactly unexpected for Steve—hell, up until now he'd typically spent holidays in the barracks or in the middle of a desert or some jungle, covered in dirt and scanning the perimeter with night vision goggles. It was just the way it was. Steve didn't lament it, he just accepted it.

He had the television programmed to one of the ball-dropping parties, and was sitting in the office area with a beer in one hand a report from a recent case in the other, skimming through the report quickly before he added it to the growing pile on the desk. He hadn't heard much from his team since he'd given them some time off between Christmas and New Year's. He'd gotten a few text messages from Chin Ho and Kono, just checking in. He didn't expect anything from Danny. He figured the Jersey detective was probably furious at him for the Hawaiian tie stunt. A grin tugged at his lips as he remembered the tie, lifting the beer bottle to his lips to pull in a swig before he shook his head with a slight chuckle. He fully expected to have his life threatened with the tie as the murder weapon of choice the next time he saw his partner.

A sound.

Steve's smile faded, his instincts suddenly on edge as he tilted his head toward the front of the house. Ever since the General Pak case, he'd been very hyperaware of anything going on outside the house. He grew still, waiting five breaths while listening to something like shuffling plastic before the doorbell rang.

Brow wrinkling in confusion, Steve tossed the reports away and placed his beer on the table to go answer the door. He could hear a stifled giggle and shushed whispering, and was very cautious as he slowly pulled the door open.

He was greeted by the sight of his teammates. Kono, grinning at him and sporting a flirty blue dress he was pretty sure he'd seen her wear undercover somewhere before; Chin Ho, giving him a warm albeit thin smile; and Danny, frowning heavily and staring at him through narrowed eyes…

…And wearing the tie.

Steve stared at them quizzically for a long moment, his eyes zeroed in on the blue Hawaiian tie he'd purchased for his partner. Danny's expression, etched in annoyance, grew more and more exaggerated as the seconds ticked by. "Think you can push your eyes back into your skull and let us in this year?" Danny snapped.

Wordlessly, Steve stepped back and out of the way, allowing his team to enter. Kono chuckled as his eyes remained glued on the tie. "Danny wasn't going to wear it, Boss, but then we told him that you had Grace help pick it out," she said by way of explanation.

"Which qualifies you for whatever award there is for the most evil bastard on Earth," Danny added, unloading the brown paper bags he'd been carrying onto the nearest couch so he could turn and wag a finger in Steve's face. "Hear this, Steve McGarrett, and commit it to memory—I will _not_ tolerate you using my daughter in your elaborate schemes to bring me misery any further than this. Grace is _off-limits_ to you. No more unsupervised visits. I don't know how you talked Rachel into it, but I've already talked to her and she's in full understanding that you are far too dangerous a person to be allowed anywhere near our daughter. Ever."

Steve blinked at him. "It was actually Stan that agreed to let me watch Grace for a few hours after school," he said easily, enjoying the sudden shade of red—_is that the color of a prune?_—that his partner's face turned for a moment. Then, he asked, "So, uh…what's all this?" He waved toward the bags that his teammates had carried inside.

"It's New Year's Eve, you dolt," Danny snapped, quickly reverting back to his normal feisty banter mode. "And the three of us figured you'd be sitting in some dark corner of your house alone, so Kono and Chin decided your place was the best place for a New Year's Eve party."

Steve blinked, then glanced at Kono and Chin to see them roll their eyes, the former surreptitiously pointing at Danny from behind the blonde detective and mouthing, "It was his idea."

Steve grinned, nodding. "Okay. Well, um…thanks?"

Danny blew a huff of air annoyedly. "You're hopeless, you know that?" He didn't clarify on this statement, just pulled out a 6-pack of Steve's favorite beer and shoved it into the lieutenant-commander's chest.

"Hau'oli Makahiki Hou, Boss!" Kono sang, while Chin repeated the sentiment with a calm smile.

Steve glanced around to meet each of their gazes. With a broad smile, he returned, "Hau'oli Makahiki Hou."

Danny rolled his eyes, and translated with a pointed look, "_Happy New Year._"


End file.
